Sunday, March 12, 2017

The Frances and Benjamin Benenson Foundation Assistant Curator of African Art is head of the department of African Art at the Yale University Art Gallery. The collections, currently numbering between 2000 and 3000 objects, are wide-ranging and include the historic Linton and Charles B. Benenson collections. The Assistant Curator is responsible for the department’s classical African art in all media, which includes objects associated with performance, ritual use, and a wide range of social functions. S/he will enhance the department’s holdings through acquisitions, research, cataloguing, exhibitions, and publications; will supervise the care of the collection through conservation, storage, and display; will field public inquiries and oversee the department’s presence on the Gallery’s website; will assume stewardship and donor cultivation responsibilities; will lecture and mentor students and will serve as ambassador for the department to the Yale community, the broader public, and to colleagues and institutions world-wide.

The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong commitment to connoisseurship at least equal to any other form of scholarship. The position reports to the Chief Curator. Responsible for the presentation of the permanent collection to the public and for access to the collection through exhibitions, installations, publications, and lectures. Oversee the maintenance, conservation, orderly storage, cataloguing, and labeling of the collection. Conduct in-depth research into the collections using original source materials where appropriate. Responsible for assessing objects requested for out-going loan. Formulate and implement a strategy for developing the collection of African Art through acquisitions and strategic loans. Mentor undergraduate and graduate students and collaborate with Yale faculty. Contribute to the formulation and implementation of the Gallery's mission in teaching and general accessibility through active involvement in discussions with the Director and other curators. Manage the Department of African Art by supervising the department’s assistant, bursary students, interns, and volunteers. Oversee and be responsible for the departmental and exhibition budgets. Manage African art databases in cooperation with the Yale University Library. Participate in fundraising projects both through contact with collectors and donors and through grant writing. Represent the curatorial department on Gallery and University committees; represent the Gallery and University to a local, national, and international community to promote the institution and its collection.

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Museum Anthropology Editors

Lea McChesney

Curator of Ethnology, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico